


Somebody like you suits me so well

by komkommertijd



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, André as Max's dad because I'm tired of Jos whoops, Break Up, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, M/M, School Dances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komkommertijd/pseuds/komkommertijd
Summary: He's just good at school, spends his afternoons studying and the evenings practicing German with his dad. He stands out through good grades but that's it, he's not special and popular and interesting like Charles and yet Charles thought that he is. Or he pitied Max enough to give in.
Relationships: Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Somebody like you suits me so well

**Author's Note:**

> Hi :))))))
> 
> It's been a while and I really don't know why writing this took me so long but here we go again. I hope it's kind of enjoyable.
> 
> I made André Max's dad for this story because we need some positivity and uh obviously that's not gonna happen otherwise. I hope it's okay.
> 
> Please note that English is not my first language, so please kindly ignore any mistakes.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated but please have fun reading this for now! :)
> 
> (The title is from Selling Me Out by Tuka because Thundamentals are life and so is this song.)

The school dance is the most important social event of the year and Max is scared shitless.

He's never been to a dance before and right now he's standing in front of the mirror and his fingers are trembling while he tries not to strangle himself with his tie. His reflection looks pathetic and he feels tiny in the suit he's wearing. His skin is pale against the dark fabric of the black suit. He feels every fiber of the seventeen-year-old teenager he is, the scrawny orphan nerd. He clings to the gaze of his own eyes in the mirror and drops the comb next to the sink. The noise echoes from the walls of his bathroom.

"Max? Is everything okay? Max..."

The door opens and his dad peeks around the corner with that usual expression of concern on his face. Blue meets blue in the mirror and sometimes Max thinks that he could actually be his real father. The door creeks slightly when his dad steps into the room and carefully puts his hand on Max's shoulder to offer him comfort.

"Can you help me with my hair? It's- it's bad and I can't fix it on my own. Please, your hairstyle looks perfect all the time and I really don't want to mess it up tonight and-"

"It's okay baby, I'll help you", his dad interrupts his rambling and gently turns him around. He smiles at Max and grabs the styling gel from the counter, gently carding his fingers through Max's hair once he has opened the small container. Max closes his eyes and for a second he feels five years old again and he's entering that house for the first time.

He feels just as scared as he did on that day and his dad puts the container back and hums, pleased with his work. Max carefully opens his eyes. His dad nods and hugs him carefully as to not crumble the clean white shirt his son is wearing and Max sinks into the embrace and holds his dad just a little bit tighter in his arms.

There's nothing in the entire world that makes Max feel safer than a hug from his dad. He cannot remember a life without him, the first six years of his life blurry and fogged but he knows that this is where he belongs. His dad is the only family he has ever needed and he probably loves him more than most people his age love their real parents.

"Come on buddy, you'll be fine. You look amazing, alright? And Charles will agree with me, so don't worry. I'll drive you to school, come on."

The car ride is quiet and Max's dad hums to the music. He kisses Max's cheek in the parking lot and hugs him one more time before he lets his son leave.

Max's heart starts racing the second he closes the car door behind him.

It's strange to go to school at night when the building is bathed in neon lights and filled with noise for entirely other reasons than usual. Max's hands feel embarrassingly sweaty when he walks up to Charles who's standing near the entry with a relaxed smile on his face and looking even more handsome than Max remembers him. He's talking to Pierre when Max arrives and he barely pays him any attention.

Max ignores the growing pain in his chest.

It's almost too loud for Max to actually enjoy the dance, but Charles is sitting next to him with a hand on his knee, so he endures and carefully sips his soft drink from a painfully cliche plastic cup until it becomes too much. He leans closer to Charles, it's too loud to talk normally, and clears his throat before he talks.

"I want to dance."

Charles just snorts and downs his punch in one go.

"But I don't want to."

Usually, the conversation would be over at this point and Max would swallow down the lump in his throat and shut up. Right now though the pain feels like it is too much. He spots Carlos and Daniel in the crowd and gets up from his seat, which earns him a frown from Charles.

"I don't care, I'll dance now."

He doesn't wait for a reaction from Charles before he leaves and makes his way through the crowd of dancing students. It's the first time that night that he actually hears the music when the beat synchronizes with his heartbeat and he moves to the music until he reaches his friends. Carlos smiles at him and wraps an arm around his shoulder while Daniel stops in his tracks and stares at Max. He blinks twice and then he smiles as well. Max almost misses the way his eyes dart in Charles's direction automatically.

"You look handsome tonight, Maxy."

That's what Charles should have said.

"I didn't think that was possible. Let's dance!", Daniel saves himself and cheers loudly before he continues to move around a little offbeat. Carlos laughs so hard he almost drags Max down to the floor with him but then he's dancing too and Max lets go of his worries for a little while. This night is not about Charles. It's about having fun, it's the only chance for him to feel like a normal teenager, the only chance to enjoy this time with his friends before they would eventually graduate and part ways. There's no time for those thoughts and the future has to wait until the night is over. This one, it belongs to Max alone. So he laughs a little harder and holds onto Daniel's hand a little tighter when he spins him through the room.

Max has missed his friends a lot and there's guilt sitting in the back of his neck, reminding him of what has happened. He stopped spending time with them when Charles began to notice him. Suddenly it was all Charles and his charming words, the little bits and pieces of attention he paid to Max and he loved it, more than he loved movie nights with Daniel and afternoons in the library with Carlos and lunch breaks with Lando and lab classes with Alex. Suddenly all he could see was Charles, who pretended to barely even see him in return.

He knows that it was wrong to let down his friends like this, to drop the ones that have been there for him through all the highs and lows, his stupid crushes and panic attacks before big exams. His friends who never judged him and accepted him the way he is, who accepted the real him. He could see it in their eyes that they weren't too fond of the new Max, the one who followed Charles around like a lost puppy and obeyed his every command, who did everything he could to impress a boy who laughed about it and hurt him with his words.

Love is a truly messed up emotion.

When Charles first introduced himself to the class as the new foreign exchange student, no one really paid him much attention. Sure, he was the mysterious, good-looking new kid, but it's a big school and everyone had other problems than dealing with Charles Leclerc. He knew how to get his way and how to charm the people around him though, so he became popular quickly. He made girls of all ages, even the teachers disgustingly enough, fall for him and at some point, not even the boys were safe anymore. Max really doesn't know why Charles ended up choosing him of all people.

Max is not popular. He's smart and polite but he's not a sports captain like Daniel or a theater kid like Alex and George. He's just good at school, spends his afternoons studying and the evenings practicing German with his dad. He stands out through good grades but that's it, he's not special and popular and interesting like Charles and yet Charles thought that he is. Or he pitied Max enough to give in.

He dances with Daniel and Carlos until someone grabs his arm ungently and yanks him away. Daniel is left blinking in confusion when Max lets go of his hand and follows Charles, who looks colder and more serious than usual and it scares Max a little bit.

„You're hurting me, let go!“, Max yells at him, but it gets lost in the noise of the school gym. He struggles against Charles's strong grip until the other one finally loosens the hold on Max's arm. They step outside and the noise quiets down the further they move down the hallway. Charles stops at some point and the dim light grazes his skin when he leans against the lockers. The red color of the metal doors behind his head makes him look intimidating and Max looks at the floor to avoid his piercing gaze.

"What were you thinking?"

And Max tears up. He bites his lip to keep calm before he looks back up. He feels almost defiant now that he is looking at Charles with barely any emotion on his face. Max's chest aches underneath his crossed arms.

"I'm spending time with my friends. What do you want, Charles?"

"You're here with me, not with your friends. Did you forget about that already?"

"I'm here to have fun and I won't let you ruin that. You make me feel worthless and it hurts, so I'm spending time with the people that actually want me to be happy. I'm not a trophy you can carry around with you and show off. I'm not going to sit by your side all night long just to look pretty and make other people jealous. That's all I am to you, right?"

Charles doesn't reply. It's quiet between them and Max feels his heart break in his ribcage.

"Alright, that's it. Find someone else you can hurt. I'm not playing that game any longer."

His legs feel heavy when he walks back to the party with his hands in the pockets of his pants and Charles's eyes on his back. He hates it, school dances always mean drama. He really just wants to go home and his fingers are already wrapping around the phone in his pocket to text his dad when he walks past the gym doors. His sight is blurry with tears when someone grabs his arm and turns him around.

"What do you want?", he snaps and Daniel immediately takes a step back and rambles an apology. He stops when he spots the tear stains on Max's cheeks and Max softens his tone. He stays silent for a while but then he wraps his arms around Max's shoulders and holds him tightly in his arms, careful not to mess up his hair. It feels safe and Max sobs quietly against his chest.

"I'll drive you home, okay? You can tell me what happened in the car. Or don't, that's okay too. Just- let's leave this dumb party. Alrighty, let's go."

Max stays quiet when they walk over the schoolyard on the way to Daniel's car. Daniel keeps one arm wrapped around his shoulder and hums a song that Max has never heard before. It's oddly comforting and it feels right, better than following Charles around. He slumps down on the passenger seat and fights with the seatbelt.

"I broke up with Charles. I mean, I don't know if we ever actually dated but- yeah. It sucks", Max mumbles to break the silence and Daniel finally stops tapping his finger on the steering wheel. He keeps his eyes on the road but Max knows that he is listening to him. He knows that he is listening because he knows Daniel. He is Max's best friend and he always listens to him when he has something to say.

"I mean- I think I like him. A lot. But- he's not good for me you know. He hurts my feelings and I hardly doubt that he cares about me. It's toxic, right? It's better for my own good."

Daniel nods and shifts gears. He stays quiet and simply hums in reply.

"It sucks to love someone you can't have. I know what that feels like, trust me."

Something in Daniel's voice sounds like he does, in fact, know what Max feels like right now, the pain visible in the way his jaw clenches. His grip tightens around the steering wheel, his fingers don't move. Max turns away and curls up on the seat as he watches the tiny stars shining on the dark canvas of the night sky. The guy on the radio keeps singing and Max gets lost in his thoughts.

"Hey honey, hi Daniel. You're back early. Did something happen at the school dance?", André asks when he opens the door. Daniel has his arm wrapped around Max's shoulder again and he smiles at Max's dad when he enters the house.

"I think that's something Max has to tell you. I'll go make some tea. Is fennel alright?"

Max nods and Daniel takes his shoes off before he wanders off to the kitchen. It makes him realize how close they actually are, how many hours and days and weekends they have spent at each other's places already. André nods before he leaves Max, who gets the hint and follows his dad to the living room. They sit down on the couch together and Max fiddles with the sleeve of his shirt until his dad wraps one arm around his shoulder and holds him close. Max rests his head on his dad's shoulder and sighs. For the first time this day, he doesn't really care about his hair.

"I broke up with Charles", he blurts out and then he cries while his dad hugs him and gently strokes his hair. He feels tiny in his arms and he sobs quietly against his shoulder while he sobs out the rest of the story. His dad doesn't say anything, he just holds him in his arms and listens to the things his son has to say. When he finishes, there are no tears left and Daniel carefully enters the room with a tray in his hands, balancing the mugs on top. He carefully puts it down before he takes a seat on Max's other side. Their thighs are touching slightly and it gives Max some added comfort before he hands him one of the mugs.

"This is definitely not what I expected tonight to look like", Max mumbles against his dad's shoulder and Daniel laughs. It makes his chest fill with warmth even before he takes a sip of the tea.

André turns on the tv and they watch a movie with Max comfortably cuddling against his dad, who laughs about a comment Daniel made about the movie. It takes some of Max's pain away to see them getting along so well after the long period of time that Daniel has not visited them. He takes another sip of his tea before he carefully rests his hand on Daniel's knee underneath the shared blanket. They smile at each other before they turn back to watch the movie.

"I never really liked Charles, you know? I just didn't want to upset you. He made you happy, so I kept it to myself. He's an idiot. He doesn't deserve you, baby", his dad says when Daniel is in the bathroom to get ready for bed. André kisses his forehead and Max smiles gently when he leaves the room. He wishes Daniel a good night when they walk past each other in the hallway and Daniel carefully closes the door of Max's bedroom when he returns.

"I've missed this. Coming over, watching movies, the sleepovers. I missed you. And your dad", Daniel adds with a chuckle while he climbs into bed next to Max and cuddles into the spare blanket. They smile at each other in the dark and Max mumbles an apology for all the time he has wasted with Charles. He feels bad for leaving his friends behind but he's so glad that they are taking him back. It's a little pathetic, really.

His heart hurts in his chest when he thinks about it. His head begins to hurt as well when he thinks about the things he's been shoving to the back of his mind for the past weeks. It all comes back now that Daniel is lying next to him in the dark, breathing quietly while he stares at the ceiling of Max's bedroom. He feels stupid for even dating Charles in the first place now.

"Love is stupid, Maxy. It's complicated and scary and it takes a lot of courage to fall in love and admit to it. It hurts if it ends like this but that pain will go away eventually, alright? Memories are harder to forget than pain and even if it never goes away, it will get less and it will hurt less at some point. It will be okay Max. Love isn't bad, it's an amazing feeling actually, and you will find someone to show you that eventually. Don't let Charles ruin that for you."

Max hums quietly and buries his head in his pillow. His thoughts are confusing and it's hard to sort through them when he has Daniel so close to himself. It brings memories and feelings back, ironically enough.

"It's not- I don't think it's because of Charles. God, I don't even know if I ever really loved him you know. Maybe he was just a crush, you know, nothing that serious. I think that I might have had feelings for someone else all along. It confuses me so much and I don't know what's going on. I feel horrible for dating someone I never even had real feelings for. I wanted him to like me so badly because the person I actually wanted didn't like me. I'm terrible, Dan."

Daniel doesn't say anything in return. Instead, he simply opens his arms and smiles at Max, who understands the gesture and moves closer until Daniel can wrap his arms around his friend just like he used to when they were younger. Max rests his forehead against Daniel's chest and listens to his heartbeat. It's slightly faster than normal and a little thrown out of the rhythm but it calms Max down nonetheless.

Daniel gently runs his fingers through Max's hair and Max remembers how he always used to compliment him for his fluffy hair. He smiles against the fabric of the blanket and breathes in the familiar scent of Daniel's clothes. It slowly lulls him to sleep and the exhaust adds to the weight of his eyelids until they fall shut.

He feels the faint ghost of Daniel's lips against his hair.

"Sleep well, Maxy. I-"

Max knows the last bit of that sentence before Daniel can whisper it in the dark. He feels as if he's known it all along. Max feels stupid for not realizing it sooner, it could have made things a lot easier.

Judging from the look his dad is giving him when the two of them are sitting in the kitchen with toast and coffee in the morning, laughing about something Daniel has said, he has known it for a long time as well.


End file.
